Bangladesh garment workers demand 140% wage rise

Bangladeshi garment workers making clothes for international brands are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka, a 140 percent increase from the current minimum, as protests and strikes continue in the sector.

Workers have protested since October 31, defying calls from the government and factory owners to return to work. They say rising food, housing, transport, healthcare and energy costs have eroded their pay.

Amena, a 27-year-old worker in the Dhaka suburb of Gazipur who gave only one name because she feared professional repercussions, told AFP she earns 12,500 taka, or about $102, after seven years sewing and checking clothes. She said rent and support for her parents leave little for food, medicine or emergencies.

“It’s impossible to live like this, but we have no other options,” she said, adding that garment factory work was the only job available to her.

Bangladesh, a country of 170 million people, is the world’s second-biggest garment exporter after China. The garment sector employs millions of people and generates most of the country’s export earnings.

Workers interviewed by AFP said they had little faith in factory owners’ promises and wanted the government and employers to accept their wage demand.